Graham Gano Looking Like the Gano of Old, Says Coach

Graham Gano is trying to put the last two injury-filled years behind him.

New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It’s been a difficult two-year stretch for New York Giants kicker Graham Gano, who has had to deal with knee and hamstring injuries that not only cost him part of the last two seasons, but appeared to affect his leg strength, particularly on long field goals of 40+ yards in which he converted 70% of those attempts over that span.

But special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial insists that he’s starting to see “the Gano everybody knows,” pointing out how Gano finished strongly last year after returning from IR. 

“Yeah, from what I've seen Graham has looked, I thought he played his best ball towards the back quarter of the season,” Ghobiral said.

“And it looked like he was the Graham Gano that everybody knows. A very successful veteran kicker that has the clutch trait, that's weather tested, that has good range, good accuracy, and good operation time.”

Gano, upon returning from IR last year, only missed one field goal attempt. On longer-distance attempts of 40+ yards, he was 6 of 7. And he also showed more than enough leg strength on his kickoffs upon his return, hitting 21 touchbacks on 31 kickoffs.

“You always wonder where a guy is with his kicking shape, and he showed up ready to go,” Ghobrial said of Gano’s return last year. 

“He kicked well in the offseason, and he's kicked well in training camp. Health-wise, I'm excited to see what he can do. I know he takes care of his body, and that's something he stays connected to. And he's done a great job for us.”

The arrow appears to be pointing up

New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All of that is promising for not just Gano, who has the second highest cap figure among kickers this year $5.665 million), but who earlier in the offseason was the subject of speculation regarding whether the Giants would move on from him and go with a less expensive option. 

Interestingly, Ghobrial redirected his response to a question about whether Gano was the same kicker who used to make 55+ yard field goals look like a piece of cake.

“To me, the most successful kickers are 100% inside 45 yards,” he said. “Then, when you look at something that's +46, you want a guy to be above 80% in theory. So he does have that 50+ range still; he does have the ability to hit the big ball. 

“And now with this new kickoff, it's more focused on foot accuracy. So, do you need someone who's going to kick it 10 yards deep every time? Not necessarily. Does he still have that ability to do so? He does.” 

It’s unknown how much work Gano will get in the preseason, as it's hard to gauge opportunities. The Giants, remember, also have Jude McAtamney on the roster, who is hoping to put together some solid film this summer.

“Jude has steadily come along since his first day here,” Ghobrial said. “You obviously see the leg strength, you see the foot accuracy. 

“His experience as both a soccer player and a rugby player, you see the different ability to do stuff on kickoff. And I'm excited to see where he's at.” 

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